Mark Dennis (QPR): banned in 1987 for picking up his 11th career red card

Liverpool themselves were left shocked by the decision, which sees Suarez banned for two games more than he received after being found guilty of racially abusing Patrice Evra in 2011.

The club's managing director Ian Ayre said: 'Both the club and player are shocked and disappointed at the severity of today's Independent Regulatory Commission decision.

'We await the written reasons tomorrow before making any further comment.'

The latest setback for Suarez means that since 2011, he has been banned for 26 matches, beyond the usual yellow and red cards.

He was hit with seven games at Ajax for biting Otman Bakkal, eight for the Evra incident, one more for flipping the middle finger at Fulham fans, and now 10 for biting again.

The tribunal took past behaviour and previous cases into consideration before reaching a
conclusion on Suarez, who was banned for seven games after he bit PSV
Eindhoven’s Otman Bakkal in November 2010.

Tottenham’s Jermain Defoe escaped a
long ban and fine in October 2006 as he was booked after biting Javier
Mascherano, then of West Ham. Had Suarez been booked last Sunday, the FA
would have still had the power to take him to task as the rules have
changed since then.

Having accepted the FA’s charge,
Suarez was already set to miss the trip to
Newcastle on Saturday, the Merseyside derby at Anfield on May 5 and
Liverpool’s visit to Fulham on May 12.

Liverpool were condemned for their stance over Suarez, having already been rebuked for failing to administer
their own suspension. The matter has been taken so seriously that the
Prime Minister entered the debate on Monday.

Follows him: Suarez's clash with Patrice Evra in 2011 resulted in an eight-game ban for the Liverpool man

GAMES SUAREZ WILL MISS

Luis Suarez will not play again for Liverpool this season. He will miss the trip to Newcastle this Saturday, the Merseyside derby at Anfield on May 5, and matches against Fulham and QPR.

Next season's fixtures are yet to be published, but it is expected that Liverpool will have seven games – six in the Premier League and one in the League Cup – by the end of September.

Suarez was fined an undisclosed amount – thought to be two weeks’ wages, a figure that equates to more than
200,000 – on Monday morning. He insisted that the money be donated to
the Hillsborough Families Support Group.

The 26-year-old was warned by Ayre that he was on his last chance at Anfield. The
Uruguay striker was found guilty by the FA in December 2011 of using
racially abusive language to Patrice Evra.

Liverpool have stressed that Suarez,
who has been strongly linked with Bayern Munich, will not be sold this
summer and have vowed to work with him to improve his behaviour.

Liverpool forward Luis Suarez is back in the spotlight after appearing to bite Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic on the arm during the 2-2 draw with Chelsea at Anfield, going on to score a late equaliser.

Here are some of the previous controversies surrounding the Uruguayan forward.

February 2007: Suarez made his international debut for Uruguay against Colombia but was sent off in the final minutes after being shown a second yellow card for dissent.

November 2007: Joined Ajax from Uruguayan side Nacional but he was later suspended by the Dutch giants after a half-time dressing-room altercation with team-mate Albert Luque.

July 2010: During the 2010 World Cup quarter-finals, Suarez prevented Ghana's Dominic Adiyiah from scoring in the final minute with a deliberate handball on the line and was subsequently sent off. A penalty was awarded but missed by Asamoah Gyan and footage showed Suarez celebrating on the sidelines. Uruguay eventually went through to the last four on penalties.

November 2010: Suarez was handed a seven-match ban by the Dutch FA and fined by his club for biting PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal during an Eredivisie match.

October 2011: Following his move to Liverpool in January 2011, he was involved in a tackle with Everton's Jack Rodwell and goes down with apparent minimal contact. Rodwell was then sent off.

October 2011: Suarez was alleged to have racially abused Manchester United's Patrice Evra during a Premier League match. Suarez was later found guilty by an independent regulatory commission and banned for eight matches and fined 40,000.

December 2011: Was seen making an offensive gesture towards Fulham fans. At this time he had already been charged by the Football Association over the racism incident, although not yet punished, but was handed a further one-match ban for the gesture.

February 2012: United and Liverpool met again at Old Trafford, but more controversy blew up as Suarez refused to shake Evra's hand before kick-off.

October 2012: Celebrated a goal against Everton by diving in front of Toffees boss David Moyes who had earlier claimed that 'divers' such as Suarez were putting fans off the English game.

January 2013: Handles the ball prior to scoring Liverpool's winner in the FA Cup third round tie at Mansfield.

April 2013: Bites Branislav Ivanovic on the arm but
escapes punishment on the pitch as the referee fails to see it, and
scores Liverpool's equaliser seven minutes into stoppage time as they
draw 2-2 with Chelsea at Anfield. Fined by club the following day and
charged with violent conduct by the FA. Subsequently handed a 10-match
ban by an independent regulatory commission.

The north London club have a tough run-in of fixtures, but Villas-Boas is hopeful Defoe will return in time for the clash with defending champions Manchester City on April 21.

The Spurs boss said: 'Jermain has a
muscle injury and that’s probably going to take him out for the next two
games and maybe Basle away.

Coming to Spurs' Ade: The Togolese striker is one option to lead the line

'If he can’t make Basle away he should be fit for the week that we prepare to play Manchester City. It’s a big blow. It’s the same muscle he had a small tear in last month, but it’s the other side (pelvic injury).

'It’s a big miss for us because he’s a player who represents a lot for us and he’s showed tremendous quality this season.

'You’ve seen us play with (Clint) Dempsey and (Gareth) Bale up front. We have been in periods where are strikers have been injured and we’ve coped with it – sometimes less successfully, sometimes more so.

'We’ll definitely have him back for the Man City game, so the negative of having an injury is not that bad.

'We’ll have the player back for the decisive moments of the season.

'He probably did it through a shooting exercise we set out prior to playing Swansea.’

Hair we go: Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Tottenham face FC Basle in the Europa League on Thursday night

England stars get down to business in training as they prepare to face the boys from Brazil

By
Declan Warrington

PUBLISHED:

11:16 GMT, 4 February 2013

|

UPDATED:

14:16 GMT, 4 February 2013

England have begun preparations for Wednesday's illustrious friendly at Wembley with Brazil.

The bad news for manager Roy Hodgson, however, is that only 11 outfield players were available to fully train today.

The withdrawals of the injured Jermain Defoe and Michael Carrick and the absence of the unfit Daniel Sturridge had significantly contributed to
the depleted numbers available to Hodgson to train, with others involved yesterday in the
Premier League instead limited to a warm-down session.

Put through their paces: The limited numbers available to England began training today

Joe Hart and Jack Butland remain the only
senior goalkeepers in Roy Hodgson's full squad but with Hart among
those only warming down, Middlesbrough's inexperienced Jason Steele has been added to
the training squad to aid preparations for Wednesday's fixture.

Hodgson is expected to announce further
squad changes today, incidentally, in response to the withdrawals of Carrick and Defoe and because of Sturridge's inability to train.

The forward has discussed his
fitness with the England manager and, though reluctant to do so, is expected to
accept that he will be unable to play any part against Brazil
and could therefore leave the England camp.

Heart-to-heart: Sturridge could withdraw from England's squad after this conversation with Hodgson

Ashley Cole, however, was among the 11 available to Hodgson today, meaning he remains on course to follow Peter Shilton, David Beckham, Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton, Billy Wright and Steven Gerrard and become the seventh England player to reach 100 caps.

His presence is a real positive for England given the intimidating prospect of facing both Ronaldinho and Neymar, but even for all of the latter's reputation as one of the world's greatest talents, another of Hodgson's defenders, Phil Jagielka, has revealed his international team-mates are yet to truly know what it is they can expect from him.

'I don't know a lot about Neymar,' Jagielka said. 'We don't see a lot of footage. He plays in Brazil so it is tough for us.

Limited numbers: But England's ranks are expected to swell before Wednesday's friendly

Tottenham face a race against time to secure the signature of Internacional striker Leandro Damiao today.

Spurs have long been linked with the Brazil striker, 23, but are understood to have made a bid of around 18million after a potential loan move for Lyon’s Lisandro Lopez fell through.

Reports from Brazil are suggesting that Internacional are holding out for an extra 2m and a deal could be made for the player to move in the summer.

Lyon value Lopez at around 7m and had already turned down Juventus’ bid to sign the striker on an initial short-term deal with an option to sign the Argentine permanently in the summer.

Prolific: Damiao's goals could secure a top-four place for Tottenham

Spurs are used to leaving it late on
transfer deadline day but any deal for Damiao would be particularly
complicated because around 30 per cent of the player's economic rights are
held by third-party investments.

The protracted nature of negotiations
had led Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy to favour a summer bid for the
striker but the north London club have decided to act today.

Boss Andre Villas-Boas has long
insisted he is happy with his current strike force but Jermain Defoe
missed Sunday’s FA Cup defeat by Leeds United with a niggling pelvic
injury and Emmanuel Adebayor will be at the Africa Cup of Nations for
longer than expected after Togo qualified for the quarter-finals.

Limited options: Without Defoe and Adebayor Spurs look very short up front

Internacional sporting director Luis
Cesar Souto de Moura told Brazilian media: ‘Leandro Damiao will only
leave if there is a very quick negotiation.

‘Damiao has a lot of quality, is a goalscorer, was the top scorer in the
Olympics and he is a very important player. Internacional understand
that it’s extremely difficult, very difficult, for Leandro Damiao to
leave now.’

Jermain Defoe has been nursing a pelvic injury and was left out of the squad for yesterday’s trip to Leeds amid fears he may yet need surgery.

Defoe has been playing in discomfort for some time and after a blistering start to the season his form has suffered with only one goal in his last eight games.

In pain: Spurs striker Jermain Defoe, grimacing during the game against Manchester United, may need surgery on a pelvic injury

The Spurs and England striker was not expected to be fit for the Barclays Premier League game against Manchester United last week but was patched up and played 90 minutes, his 34th appearance of the season, because Emmanuel Adebayor was at the Africa Cup of Nations with Togo.

Defoe was able to train last week and the club were at pains to insist there was nothing wrong with him ahead of the FA Cup tie at Elland Road but there is clearly concern behind the scenes.

The striker has had an injection in the hope of being fit for Wednesday’s fixture at Norwich but the fear at Tottenham is that it nags away or worsens and requires an operation.

Top form: Defoe has scored 14 goals so far this season

Andre Villas-Boas has tried to manage the issue carefully, hoping Adebayor might return quickly or that a striker can be signed in the transfer window but it has exposed a desperate lack of cover in a key area.

Spurs went into the season with only two specialist centre forwards, youngster Harry Kane on loan at Norwich and Clint Dempsey, an attacking midfielder who can operate up front, as he did at Leeds.

Tottenham have long been in pursuit of a striker. They are keen on Sevilla striker Alvaro Negredo but have yet to strike a deal and they are interested in Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke although this is not something they can complete this month as he has already played for two clubs this season.

In need: Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas (pictured) was forced to play Clint Dempsey up front in the loss at Leeds and has been searching for another striker

Tottenham 1 Manchester United 1: Dempsey dramatic injury-time equaliser cuts Red Devils' lead over City to five points

PUBLISHED:

17:54 GMT, 20 January 2013

|

UPDATED:

18:07 GMT, 20 January 2013

Clint Dempsey scored a dramatic equaliser deep into injury-time to rescue a point for Tottenham at a snowy White Hart Lane.

Robin van Persie clinically headed home in the 25th minute and that looked like the winner all the way until the 92nd minute when American Dempsey converted Aaron Lennon's cross to snatch a point for Spurs.

More to follow

Saviour: Clint Dempsey struck deep into injury-time to rescue a point for Spurs

Tottenham are considering making a 15million offer for Brazil striker and long-term target Leandro Damiao.

The 23-year-old, who has 14 caps for his country, was on Spurs’ radar throughout Harry Redknapp’s reign and Andre Villas-Boas is also an admirer.

With Emmanuel Adebayor expected to perform a u-turn and head to the Africa Cup of Nations Spurs are ready to make a fresh bid for the Internacional man, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

You'll fit right in: Brazilian Leandro Damiao is a target for Tottenham

If Adebayor does, as expected, play for Togo this month then that would leave Jermain Defoe as Villas-Boas’ only available striker.

Damiao finished as top scorer in last summer’s Olympics with six goals and Spurs are believed to have had offers rejected in the past.

The club have already tied up a pre-contract agreement with German international midfielder Lewis Holtby, who will officially join the club in the summer.

Plan: Emmanuel Adebayor (left) is considering a return to the Togo side

Midfielders Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore are both expected to leave White Hart Lane this month, with the former attracting interest from QPR and Fulham and the latter expected to join Redknapp’s Rs on loan to the end of the season.

'It's his choice': Spurs manager AVB admits he could still lose goalscorer Adebayor to the Africa Cup of Nations

By
Mark Bryans, Press Association

PUBLISHED:

19:17 GMT, 1 January 2013

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UPDATED:

00:39 GMT, 2 January 2013

Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas was pleased to see Emmanuel Adebayor get his name on the scoresheet in the 3-1 win over Reading, but refused to rule out the possibility of losing the striker to the Africa Cup of Nations.

Adebayor scored Spurs' second goal as they recovered from an early Pavel Pogrebnyak header to secure a victory that takes them above Chelsea and into third place in the Barclays Premier League.

Tottenham skipper Michael Dawson levelled for the hosts with Clint Dempsey's deflected effort sealing the points late on, but it was Adebayor's goal after 51 minutes that stood out for Villas-Boas.

Big loss: AVB faces the prospect of losing Adebayor for the next two months to the African Cup of Nations

'It was important for him today to score,' he said. 'He had a couple of situations recently against Sunderland and Villa, it was important for him to get back into the goals.

'Strikers live off goals, it was important for him to score. You see him trying like Jermain Defoe, Clint, and how decisive he is also.

'They want to get in the box, they breathe off scoring goals and it will give him a boost for sure.'

Struggling: The Togolese international has only netted three times this term for the White Hart Lane side

It was widely believed that Adebayor would stay at White Hart Lane as opposed to linking up with Togo ahead of the forthcoming African Nations Cup.

But Villas-Boas said he was still unsure over whether he would lose the former Manchester City striker in a fortnight's time and that the decision lies squarely with the player.

'It's a vulnerable situation, anything can happen,' he said. 'I've told you the player can still go, I understand it is still a possibility.

'It was always his choice, I'm not going to put pressure on him. We've left it to player to decide. If player wants to go, we respect the African Nations Cup.'

Celebrate: Adebayor scored the second goal during Spurs' 3-1 victory over Reading today

Reading boss Brian McDermott saw his side put in a valiant effort against an in-form Spurs side and reckons Villas-Boas is building a good squad at White Hart Lane.

'I couldn't fault our players today,' he said. 'The discipline of the team, you have to come here with a certain way of playing and I thought we were going to get something today.

'You'd take a goal any time, it was a great free-kick and Pavel scored on rebound. They had plenty of possession, Andre has put a good side together, it has been building for a while, they have a really good chance – they're going to finish very, very high in this league.'

Pogrebnyak's early effort was his fourth league goal of the season but the Russian striker missed a glorious chance to level the match at 2-2 when he headed wide after Hugo Lloris had parried his initial shot.

McDermott bemoaned his side's luck and did not feel they deserved to lose 3-1.

'We had three opportunities at 2-1, if we'd got the second goal it could have gone either way,' he said.

'It is disappointing that one of the chances didn't go in, they were good opportunities – it wasn't really a 3-1 game, that didn't really tell the story of the game.'